2005 discharge: European Maritime Safety Agency

2006/2164(DEC)

Having examined the revenue and expenditure account for the financial year 2005 and the balance sheet of revenue and expenditure at 31 December 2005 of the European Maritime Safety Agency, the Council recommends the European Parliament to give a discharge to the Executive Director of the Agency in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2005.

In doing so, the Council confirms that EUR 700 000 (85%) of the EUR 800 000 in appropriations carried forward from the financial year 2004 to the financial year 2005, have been used. In addition, EUR 500 000 in appropriations have been carried forward from the financial year 2005 to the financial year 2006 and EUR 19.8 million have been cancelled.

In parallel, the Council makes accompanying comments on the discharge which should be followed up. In particular, it:

  • notes that the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2005 was affected by the delays on staff recruitment. It calls on the Agency to take the appropriate measures to remedy this situation;
  • calls on the Agency to tighten up its control system, including the adoption of minimum standards for administrative and control procedures and the organisation of data, in order to solve the weaknesses detected by the Court;
  • states that as regards the management of public procurement, it considers that the Agency should also improve its compliance with the regulatory requirements.